Job done. Anyone who was hoping for derby dynamite against Sunderland will be sorely disappointed.

Well, not disappointed exactly. I mean, three wins on the spin and nudging up to fifth place after a routine win over Our Friends In The North is a great way to cushion any aesthetic blow felt by purists after such a functional display.

If you can’t set aside your footballing principles to punch the air with parochial pride and passion after rubbing the salt in the wounds of your flailing rivals then you probably need to consider an ethical reboot.

But it won’t just be the purists who will have been underwhelmed by the game. Spare a thought for the nationwide armchair army for who the game was the first slice of the Super Sunday on Sky.

If you were at the Riverside then it was more engaging and urgent and visceral but even then it wasn’t a classic. It was scrappy and subdued for long spells and played out in a very controlled fashion that lacked the bite and spite of a classic derby encounter.

There didn’t feel for a second that the club-swap buzz-cut battlers in midfield - Grant Leadbitter and Lee Cattermole - were ever going to recreate the famous photo where they grab each other by the throat.

The game was low-key and lacked the fiery, feisty passion of so many of the clashes of the past. But maybe that is what Boro wanted.

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There were some anxious questions being raised during the game: why do Boro sit so deep and invite pressure? Why are they playing like the away side when they are at home to the side who are bottom? Why don’t they go for the jugular?

I don’t think those questions will go away in the weeks to come. It feels like Boro have found an effective style and system and balance that works for them and nine points in nine days is a compelling argument.

The game fitted a tactical template that has evolved over recent weeks and has under-pinned the resurgence of Garry Monk’s team.

There was a lot of muttering just a month ago about the team lacking and identity and a DNA, lacking a shape that fitted and suited and got results. Well, in the past three games that shape has emerged from the fog of that early season fumbling.

Boro scored an exquisitely crafted opener after just six minutes and then gradually retreated and strung out tactical barbed-wire 30 yards out and sent out a hand-written, gold embossed invitation to an ill-equipped and underwhelming Sunderland side to push forward and get themselves tangled up in it.

That led to a sluggish low-thrills war of attrition just inside the Boro half, with the team working hard to close men and space quickly, put in tackles and stifle Sunderland and strangle the game.

It also lured the opposition forward and opened up pockets of space behind that could be exploited with rapid counter-attacks.

That is in keeping with the wins at Reading and Hull where Boro appeared to consciously surrender possession and territory, drift back into their own defensive third and try to draw the opposition forward before launching a quick sting.

And it is noticeable that in all three of those games Boro had a lot less possession than their rivals.

In the 2-0 win at Reading Boro had just 40% of possession. In the 3-1 win at Hull they had only 44%. Against Sunderland it was a fraction more at 47% - but in a game they would be expected to boss.

At Reading and Hull that would be half expected as the onus is on the home side to take the initiative but the trend continued at the Riverside against Sunderland and seemed to be a deliberate strategy.

Interestingly, in the three other games this term where they have had less than half of the possession they are yet to lose.

At home to Preston they were under the cosh for long spells before finding their feet (but not their teeth) and they ended the 0-0 draw with just 47% domination of the ball.

In the 0-0 at Villa they were down to 35% - but then they were a man down for an hour after Adama Traore was sent off very early on.

And at Fulham they were given the run around for long spells and drew 1-1 with 43% of the ball.

On the flip side, a lot of the games where they have racked up the most possession have ended badly.

Middlesbrough manager Gary Monk

Yes, they were totally in charge in the 3-0 win at Bolton (59%) and the 2-0 victory over Burton (57%) but they dominated territory against Cardiff (58%) and Norwich (59%) without offering an real prospective of hurting the opposition and losing both disappointing games 1-0.

Similarly they pushed forward and controlled the ball and space but got caught in 2-2 draws with Brentford (53%) and Barnsley (58%).

It seems the tactical tectonic plates have been shifting. Monk has consciously changed the dynamic of how Boro set up in games.

They are tighter at the back - just one conceded in the last three games - and brighter going forward: they counter at pace, turn the opposition backline and get numbers forward to attack square balls and crosses balls in from the byline.

The platform for that is dropping deeper and conceding the ball to the opposition. Which never sits well with the watching fans and makes for a nervous final 10 minutes.

But count the points. The change in emphasis has stopped the rot, brought results and built a platform for the rest of the season.

It won’t always be pretty but it can be very effective, especially in a division like the Championship.